An investigation of compassion fatigue of school counselors: The Role of personal and work-related factors

The main goal of the study is to examine the predictive power of school climate, mindfulness-based self-care, and professional self-efficacy on compassion fatigue among school counselors. A total of 284 school counselors from various cities in Turkey participated in the study. Data were collected using a demographic information form, the 21-item Compassion Fatigue Scale for Psychological Counselors, the School Climate Scale, the Mindfulness-Based Self-Care Scale, and the Professional Self-Efficacy Scale for School Counselors. Descriptive statistics, Independent Samples t-tests, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, and Hierarchical Regression analyses were used. According to the results, school climate, mindfulness-based self-care, and professional self-efficacy explain 28% of the total variance in school counselors' compassion fatigue scores. Significant differences were found in compassion fatigue levels based on marital status, field of study, and years of experience (p < .05); however, no significant differences were found based on gender, school type, educational level, number of students, and grade level (p > .05). The limitations and findings of the study are discussed in relation to the relevant literature. Additionally, suggestions for future research are provided. Keywords: Compassion Fatigue, School Climate, Mindfulness-Based Self-Care, Professional Self-Efficacy